This invention relates to a process for the production of hydrogen from a hydrocarbon.
Hydrogen is now used in various applications as a raw material for ammonia, methanol, etc. and as an energy source. Hydrogen has been produced by the steam reforming or partial oxidation of a hydrocarbon such as methane. This method, however, yields carbon dioxide as a by-product which should not be discharged to the atmosphere for the prevention of warming of the earth.
A method has been proposed for the production of hydrogen without yielding carbon dioxide, which includes pyrolyzing a hydrocarbon such as methane in the presence of nickel catalyst supported on silica (Proceedings of The 72th Catalyst Symposium, page 190 (1993)). In this method, the hydrocarbon is pyrolyzed into hydrogen and solid carbon. The carbon formed in situ deposits on the nickel catalyst to cause poisoning. Further, when CO.sub.2 is introduced into the reaction system for converting the carbon deposits into CO, the catalytic activity of the nickel catalyst is considerably reduced by CO.sub.2.